Joan looks amazing on the cover! And I'm so happy to see that Elle actually put a model on the cover for once, and one who might not be a household name yet. It's a good way to start out 2014 magazine year.

__________________http://miss-rumphius.tumblr.com/ "It is ever so much easier to be good if your clothes are fashionable." Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Supermodels, over? As if. Joan Smalls wields the kind of flawless, unequivocal beauty that is both a throwback to the past and a sign that fashion is finally facing the future. Molly Young meets the very real woman behind the planet's most perfect face
On the fashion industry’s lack of diversity: "People hide behind the word aesthetic. They say, ‘Well, it’s just that designer’s aesthetic.’ But when you see 18 seasons in a row and not one single model outside a certain skin color…? There are people in the industry who are advocates, who support diversity. And there are people who do not. I don’t get it. Beauty is universal. These doors have to open.”
How her modeling career started: "I came to New York with a dream. I came to do what I saw girls doing in campaigns, in editorials—great things, challenging things."
Her motivations to eventually get into acting: "I want to be clear that I don't want to act just because it's the typical move for a model. My desire comes from a place of wanting to entertain people on a different level."
Estée Lauder's Richard Ferretti on Smalls: “The word supermodel is overused, but if there is any woman of our generation who deserves the title, it’s Joan. She has the perfect face.”